


Two Steps Left

by ally_chaaaan



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Langst, M/M, Mind-Melding Shenanigans, Oblivious Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Poor Keith, Slow Burn, klangst, pre-Season 8
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:07:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21757273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ally_chaaaan/pseuds/ally_chaaaan
Summary: It's getting to be too much. Their constant bickering, misunderstandings, not seeing eye-to-eye... Allura was done. Absolutely done with these two.Lance and Keith haven't been on the best of terms lately. Ever since Keith had returned from the Quantum Abyss, they were at each other's throats, and everyone knew they desperately needed an intervention.An intervention in the form of Altean mind-melding hijinks, apparently. Or, according to Lance,Weird Altean Voodoo™.---After a training simulation gone wrong, Allura attempts to fix the rift between Lance and Keith by linking their minds together. For about a week, they will be faced with each other's thoughts and emotions, in hopes to reach some sort ofunderstanding.Pidge is just there for the ride, honestly.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 32
Kudos: 685
Collections: Voltron Stars🌌





	Two Steps Left

**Author's Note:**

> UPDATE (12/12/19): I changed the beginning after reading your feedback so definitely go check it out!! It explains the situation in better detail because I realise some of the things I wrote a year ago (when I originally wrote this fic) were a bit yikes. Thanks for all the feedback! :)
> 
> ENJOY 
> 
> (*^▽^*)

“Two steps left.”

_CRASH_

“Right, five steps.”

_CRASH_

“Forward, one step.”

_CRASH_

“Oh for the love of–”

“Alright!” Allura chirped, clapping her hands together with an all-too-bright smile. She nodded at Pidge to her right, who then pressed the button that turned off the invisible maze simulation around Lance. “That’s enough of that! Why don’t we take a break?”

“Oh thank God!” Lance exclaimed from down in the Garrison training room. He took his helmet off with a huff. “I think Mullet Man’s trying to kill me.”

“ _Kill you_?” Keith screeched as he leaned forward on the observation deck. “I was _trying_ to get you through the maze!”

They had all gathered here on this particular day thanks to Pidge, who had called Allura, Lance and Keith over to test out her latest project – a crude version of the maze exercise from the old Castle of Lions. Alongside Coran, she’d already managed to replicate the mind-melding equipment – and there was no way she was stopping there.

James and the other MFE pilots had overheard their conversation and tagged along – because they were interested in Altean technology, of course.

~~But it also partly to see Lance and Keith be Pidge’s unfortunate guinea pigs.~~

“Are you sure you installed this tech properly?” James asked from behind Keith. He was leaning on the back wall with the other MFE pilots on either side of him. Keith scowled and stormed out of the room. Within seconds he could be seen in the training room below shouting angry words at Lance.

“ _You’re_ asking _me_ if I installed some tech _properly_?” Pidge snapped. “If anyone did anything wrong it would be _those_ two idiots,” she said, shooting an annoyed look at Lance and Keith, who were still arguing heatedly and pointing fingers at each other. “Why did I think it’d be okay to ask _those_ two to demo the new training tech?”

“What’s it _supposed_ to do, then? Oh, _mighty tech-genius_?” James smirked.

“James,” Kinkade said quietly in warning.

“Well, _your royal ass-ness_ ,” Pidge smiled sweetly, “one person can see the map of the maze from up here and must direct the other one, who _can’t_ see the maze, through it. It’s an Altean training method that’s _supposed_ to build trust between comrades.”

James scoffed. “Well, it’s working out _so well_ for our favourite wonder-duo over there.”

Over her shoulder, Pidge wasn’t surprised to see that the arguing had escalated. Well, nothing new there.

“They’re not the _best_ at team-building exercises,” Allura sighed. “But that doesn’t mean they don’t work well together.”

“You’re right!” Rizavi pitched in. “Whenever it gets serious, they can be a _really_ deadly pair.” There was a crash from below. “Uh… _I think_.”

“Deadly.” Leifsdottir agreed quietly.

“Well, you’re not wrong…” Allura frowned. “But at times it’s like… they don’t understand each other at all.”

“Oh, if only there were _some way_ we could _somehow_ build a machine that would allow them to experience each other’s thoughts and emotions.” James laughed dryly. He didn’t notice Allura’s thoughtful expression as he continued, “Whatever. I’ll get my team to test out your toy later, alright? Good work.”

Pidge’s lips quirked up in amusement as James walked out of the room, his squadmates following quickly behind him. Despite being the King of Ass™, James was alright.

On the other hand…

“I’m not the one who decided it would be funny to have their teammate get zapped _fifty times_!”

“Well, _I’m_ not the one who's terrible at following orders! How hard is it to walk _two steps left_?”

“This never happens with everyone else!”

“Oh, yeah? Maybe because _everyone else_ is capable of listening to simple instructions! _Two steps left_ , Lance! _Two_!”

“Are you sure it's not because you're incapable of–”

“ _ENOUGH!_ ” Allura's angry yell was enough to instantly render both paladins quiet. Pidge had the sudden urge to eat popcorn. “I've had enough of you two not being able to see eye to eye. Keith, you're the leader of Voltron! And Lance, you're supposed to be his right-hand man! Out of everyone, you're supposed to be the strongest unit! Like… like my father and… and–”

She took a steadying breath before continuing. “Instead... you choose to bicker like children. I can't handle this anymore.”

With that, Allura stormed out of the observation deck. There was silence for a minute before Pidge spoke.

“You guys are _so screwed_.”

* * *

After that fiasco in the training room, Lance and Keith went their separate ways. While Keith went off to God-knows-where (probably Shiro’s room), Lance quietly followed Pidge to the Garrison kitchen, where Hunk was fiddling with a mix of earthen and alien ingredients. In the free time that they had between preparing for the inevitable launch of ATLAS and having diplomatic meetings with the coalition, Hunk had taken residence in the kitchen, renewing his love for cooking.

“Hey Hunk,” Lance said forlornly. He reached for a blue cookie that Hunk must've baked recently and sat at the kitchen counter.

“Whoa,” Hunk frowned, leaning around Lance to shoot Pidge a questioning look.

“Maze exercise. Didn't work out. Allura’s mad.” Pidge explained, shrugging. She took a seat next Lance. “Can I have a cookie too?”

Hunk mindlessly handed Pidge the gooey treat before turning back to Lance. “After that whole stuck-in-space thing, I thought we were cool?”

“ _Me too_.” Lance let out a long-suffering sigh, burying his face into his arms on the counter. “I think Keith's just destined to hate me.”

A shit-eating grin crossed Pidge’s face as she shoved Lance back into a sitting position. “Maybe, if you just _told_ a certain someone how you feel–”

“No! No way. Nuh-uh. Nada. Hell to the freakin’ _no_.” Lance scrambled to hide the blush rising up his cheeks. “And besides, _no one_ has feelings for _anyone_ and there’s _no chance_ he’ll be telling anyone _anything_!”

Pidge held up her hands in surrender, but she was still grinning madly. “I didn’t say it, okay? You did. But… you know, if you just _told_ Keith how _hot_ you think his ass looks in that sexy Garrison-issued uniform and _that’s_ the reason you can’t concentrate in the maze simulator–”

“Why do I tell you anything?” Lance cried.

“Lance, buddy, listen,” Hunk said gently, giving Pidge a look that said _please stop for once_. Pidge let out a huff and took another bite of her cookie in protest. “I think you should let go of this one-sided rivalry you think you still have and let Keith in for a change. It's gotten worse since we got stuck in space and I think the verbal matches you guys have every two seconds has lost its… _funniness_.”

“I–” Lance started, but his protest died quickly at the imploring look in Hunk's eyes. “I'm sorry. I'll try harder next time. Really. I just wished… Keith wasn't so quick to hate me all the time.”

“Keith doesn't hate you,” Pidge said seriously. “He doesn't.”

“How would you know? You were there when he said he didn’t want to be stuck with me for eternity!”

Pidge shrugged. But the look on her face held a deeper meaning that Lance didn’t want to think about too much.

A tense silence settled between the three of them.

“Well!” Hunk exclaimed suddenly at the same time a _DING!_ sounded off from behind him. “Who wants to try out my new space-brownie recipe?”

* * *

“He's so annoying!” Keith screamed, throwing his arms up in the air. “We're _in a war_! Would it kill him to be serious for a _minute_?”

“I don't think you're getting it, Keith,” Shiro said cryptically.

Keith let out a frustrated groan and tossed himself face-first onto Shiro's bed.

“Listen, kiddo,” Shiro began quietly. “Maybe Lance acts that way for a reason. You just said we're in a war, so _maybe_ he's just trying to ease the mood. I’ve told you this before.”

Keith's eyebrows drew together in confusion as he turned to look at his friend. “Ease the mood?” He scoffed. “How does messing up all the time _ease the mood_? That literally doesn’t achieve anything! Besides giving me a fucking headache.”

A disappointed look crossed Shiro's face and he placed his human hand on Keith's shoulder in ~~patronising~~ silent comfort. Keith relaxed a little, albeit begrudgingly. He hated when Shiro gave him that Disappointed Dad™ look.

“Lance always comes through when it matters.” Shiro continued after a moment. “I think you just need to get to know him outside of Voltron again, like before.”

“He's always with Hunk and Pidge though,” Keith protested weakly. “They're so close. I feel like if I joined them, I'd make things awkward. And it’s not like I haven’t tried before like you said.”

“Keith,” Shiro sighed, “you've spent _two years_ atop a space whale. You've made amends with your mom and accepted your past. Do you seriously think you're not capable of _making friends_? With people that you’re _already friends with_?”

Keith blushed, remembering those early years in the Garrison, when he'd first been introduced to his classmates. He remembered those curious looks, how a certain blue-eyed boy looked at him with something akin to admiration…

How he proceeded to avoid all human contact because he was intimidated by the blue-eyed-boy’s ease around everyone and everything.

And how that very same blue-eyed-boy was now constantly invading his every waking moment.

~~And every sleeping moment for that matter.~~

“Doesn't matter now,” Keith finally said after a beat. Shiro deflated, to his dismay.

Keith tried again: “Shiro, come on, we're nearly ready with preparations. In a few weeks, we'll be back at it again and then there'll be no more room for friendship.”

“Do you really think that?” Shiro frowned.

For some reason, it was that question that made Keith pause.

“Lance is capable of many things,” Shiro continued. “He's been through a lot, too. You should...ask him what happened to him when you were gone.”

There was more to that than Shiro let on, Keith could tell. Still, he didn't say anything as he turned to bury himself into Shiro's sheets again. He felt Shiro's weight lift off the bed and then after a moment the room was thrown into darkness.

* * *

Lance wasn't stupid, he could read between the lines. He knew what this was.

Allura had called for a Voltron-only meeting, something they hadn't really done (or had time for) since their time in space. Coran and Shiro stood off to the side, acting more like supervisors during a school activity, while the five paladins settled into the seats of one of the many conference rooms in the Garrison.

He knew that this was an intervention.

“You all know why we’re here.” It wasn't a question. Allura didn’t wait for an answer as she continued. “Our core members have... issues to settle.”

_Core?_ Lance thought bitterly. He knew that the red paladin was supposed to be the right-hand to the black paladin, but ever since Keith returned from the space-whale ( ~~all tall and grizzled and cool~~ ) he'd been pushed to the side. If anything, Allura was more than capable of overtaking him as the red paladin.

He missed Blue. And okay, at this point he had some attachment to Red too, but he knew that Red was a lion that deserved more, deserved _better_. He knew she wouldn’t mind if he stepped down if the person who replaced him was ten times more capable than he was. And there were many people who were ten times more capable than Lance. James, Kinkade, _his sister Veronica for crying out loud_.

“We need to do something about this before we inevitably head back into space.” Allura was saying, and Lance realised he'd missed a chunk of her speech. He glanced at Keith from across the table for a split second and saw that the black paladin was focussing intently at Allura.

Lance looked away in shame. What was he doing, getting distracted at a time like this? By his own stupid thoughts, no less?

“We’ve exhausted all the usual ways of conflict resolution.” Allura rose from her seat and went to retrieve something from Coran. “I think it's time to try something more drastic. And actually, you have your colleague Griffin to thank for giving me this idea.”

She produced two headbands – the very same ones that Pidge had made to replicate the mind-melding exercise. Lance swallowed the urge to point out that they'd tried that already.

“Whoa, ’Lura,” Lance said instead. “What are you planning to do?”

“Something I should've done since the very beginning,” Allura sighed.

“It's an ancient Altean trick,” Coran piped up. He moved forward to join the paladins at the table. Shiro wordlessly went to place a comforting hand on Keith's shoulder.

“Much like the mind-melding, it works to make people understand each other better,” Coran explained. “Although, instead of just having a glance at each other's thoughts and reaching one specific point in your own minds, you will be subjected to _everything_ the other is thinking. Well, not everything, but it gets quite complicated to explain.”

“What Coran is trying to say,” Allura said, “is that your quintessence will be temporarily linked and some things you wish the other knew will be made known. It was a common procedure back in Altea, so it's nothing to worry about.”

“Alfor and Zarkon actually did it once to strengthen their teamwork in battle!” Coran finished, twisting his mustache with a grin.

“It only ends once you come to a mutual understanding,” Allura added, sensing the question on Lance’s lips.

Coran nodded and continued. “Occasionally your consciousness will transfer to the other and you will experience first-hand what the other person is seeing, feeling and doing – usually during a pivotal moment.” He finished his explanation with an unnecessary wave of his hand. Lance couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.

Keith wasn’t as amused. “What the _fuck_ does that mean? Some sort of role-reversal magic? How the _fuck_ does that make _anyone_ get along?“

“Like I said,” Allura said with a frown, “you guys have a lot to work on, and it’s getting to the point where I worry for the upcoming fight. So, are you guys willing to give it a try?”

Lance gulped. _Of course_ he was willing to try. He was willing to do _anything_ to get back to the easy atmosphere he once had with Keith. But was Keith as willing as him?

“Lance. Keith.” Shiro said, not loudly but with a commanding tone that rendered everyone in the room quiet. “I think there’s something for you two to learn in this exercise. It’s true that your teamwork has gotten really bad ever since…” Shiro cleared his throat but Lance knew what he was thinking about. _Ever since Keith came back_. “You two need to learn to understand each other better – there are things that the both of you don’t know about the other, and maybe by doing this you’ll learn a thing or two.”

What could he say to _that_? Lance couldn’t find anything to say against this… this… well, _whatever_ this was. Some part of him really did want to see things from Keith’s perspective. Know what had made him so hostile towards Lance all of a sudden. They were once so close – back when the lion switch was so fresh and they were both figuring out what they meant to the team, _to each other_ … And Lance even _felt_ something _more_ , back then. Something he _really_ didn’t want to put a name to. ~~Though if you asked Pidge, she’d give you _plenty_ of words to describe it.~~

But then Keith went off to fight with the Blades and that connection had been severed.

All he wanted to know was: _why_?

“Fine,” Lance breathed, slumping against his chair. “Let’s hope this works.”

“Me too,” Keith grumbled, crossing his arms in minute protest.

* * *

_Ooh! This looks tasty!_

_Yikes. Okay, maybe not._

_Heh. Let’s make Pidge try this weird alien dessert._

“Hey, Pidge–”

“Can't you turn your thoughts off for _one minute_?” Keith growled, slamming his hands on the table as he stood. His cutlery clattering against his plate was the only noise in the following silence that had settled over the mess hall.

Keith’s glare sent the onlookers’ heads turning away.

“Um…” Hunk cleared his throat. “Is… everything okay?”

“ _No_.” Keith seethed, turning to shoot Lance an annoyed glare. “Do you ever shut up?”

Lance threw his hands up with a frown. “Hey man, I thought you wanted to give this thing a try. And sorry if I can’t suddenly stop _thinking_.”

“Well _try_ ,” Keith grumbled. “Everything that goes through your head is useless.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Shiro said from next to Keith. “Keith, calm down. I thought we talked about this.”

“I didn’t think it’d be like _this_!” Keith hissed.

“Oh, yeah,” Lance spat with a strong sense of hurt that Keith could feel deep in his bones. _Okay, maybe he shouldn’t have said that_. “You _did_ say you didn’t want to be stuck with me for eternity. Guess it _sucks_ to be you right now, huh, Keith?”

That wasn’t what Keith meant! But… Keith couldn’t find it in himself to tell Lance the truth. “You know what–”

“Keith,” Allura sighed. “Lance’s thoughts are in your head only because there’s something you don’t understand–”

“Don’t understand?” Keith screeched. “What’s there to _understand_ in the first place?”

“That’s for you to find out,” Allura stressed, standing so she was eye-to-eye with Keith. “Why don’t you two talk about it?”

“I will not!” Keith huffed stubbornly. “There’s nothing to talk _about_!”

“Keith–”

“No! I’m done!” He picked up his plate and left the dining hall.

Once he reached his room, he threw himself onto the bed with a grunt. _Great_. He just _had_ to screw it up, didn’t he? Within minutes of agreeing to work out his relationship with Lance, he had to just go and blow up at everyone. And for what?

Looking back on it, there really was no reason to be so angry. In reality, he really _did_ want to make things better with Lance. He wanted that easy camaraderie that had bloomed between them all those years ago.

Huh. _Years ago._ Has it really been that long since he and Lance had a proper conversation?

He groaned, rolling over so he could bury his head into his pillow and scream.

* * *

It was late. Late enough that the lights illuminating the hallways of the Garrison had been dimmed and there was no one save for a few guards walking around the empty corridors.

Unlike back when they were cadets, Keith didn’t really have an enforceable curfew. Or rather, he wouldn’t get kicked out if he decided to take a midnight stroll to the training room. Being the leader of Voltron had its perks, he figured.

He needed to get his mind off of things.

Off of _him_.

Lance’s thoughts were a constant buzz at the back of Keith’s mind. It had only gotten worse when he stormed out of the dining hall.

Worse because it wasn’t just mindless thoughts – sometimes, if Keith was sure he wasn’t hallucinating, he could sense Lance’s genuine worry for him. And maybe… that scared him a little bit.

The Garrison’s training room didn’t have the same advanced technology that the Castle did – there were no gladiators to spar with or drones to throw his knife at. But Pidge – bless her icy robot heart – had installed some hologram training sequences that worked very much the same way.

After tapping a command on the control panel by the door, Keith pulled out his bayard and took a deep, focussing breath.

A shimmery, translucent gladiator appeared to his right. Keith remained still as it approached, waiting for the last minute to move. In an instant, he brought up his sword to deflect the gladiator’s blow and then twisted so that he could attack from behind.

For a few blissful moments, all Keith could think about was how to defeat the gladiator – _where were its weak points? should I try to hit it here? or here?_ – when suddenly his vision wavered, and he crumpled to the ground. The gladiator didn’t hesitate to take a jab at Keith, the holographic sword passing through Keith’s body before it turned red and disappeared.

_TRAINING SEQUENCE FAILED_ , came a voice from the speakers.

Keith groaned, the sudden burst of pain threatening to split his head in two. He squeezed his eyes shut.

And then: _nothing_.

* * *

When he opened his eyes again, he was _not_ in the training room.

Then, he remembered the other effect of Allura’s magic.

“ _Occasionally your consciousness will transfer to the other_ ,” Coran had said, “ _and you will experience first-hand what the other person is seeing, feeling and doing_.”

Well.

This was _not_ what Keith was expecting.

Stupid Altean magic. Who even came up with this idea? It sounds like it’d been ripped from a shitty sci-fi novel.

“Come on, Pidgeon,” Keith could hear Lance saying, and then he realised the words were coming out of _his_ mouth. Or Lance’s. Or – whatever! He was in Lance’s head. That was it.

“Lance, you know I love you, but I _need_ to get this done. Like, _right now_.” Pidge was inputting strings of code into her computer. Keith noted that they were in her room, if the random pieces of tech and knick-knacks from their adventures scattered around them were anything to go by.

“Do you, though?” Lance responded with a knowing smile. Don’t ask Keith _how_ he knew Lance was smiling. He just knew. (Again: _stupid Altean magic_.)

“This project won’t disappear when you sleep,” Lance was saying. “How many times have I told you that, gremlin?”

Pidge looked up at Lance – at _Keith_ – with a wry grin. “Do you really want the number? I’ve got it logged down _somewhere_.”

Lance winked. Keith felt a buzz of satisfaction run through him – _Lance’s_ satisfaction – when Pidge stood and shut down her computer.

“Don’t you _dare_ get off that bed as soon as I leave. I _will_ know.” Lance leaned towards Pidge and ruffled her hair. “My Lancey-senses will tingle.”

“Gross,” Pidge laughed, getting into her bed. Lance moved some books and gadgets off the mattress and then pulled her blanket up to her chin. Pidge laughed harder and swatted at Lance’s hands. “Get away from me, you idiot.”

When Lance left the room, Pidge’s laughter continued to trickle through the door.

_That’s Pidge done_ , Lance’s thoughts filled Keith’s consciousness. _Wonder if Hunk’s asleep_.

Keith could hear everything loud and clear and he _hated it_. It wasn’t like Lance’s random thoughts during dinner – these thoughts were _personal_. Things Lance probably didn’t want Keith to hear or know about.

He wanted to scream, to somehow tell Lance he was in his head, to _get the fuck out of here_.

But Lance had other plans. He headed down the corridor to Hunk’s room and gently knocked on the door. “Hey, buddy, you good in there?”

It was _midnight_ the last time Keith checked. He thought _Pidge_ was the only other night-owl besides him. Why was Lance checking on Hunk? To be annoying? To interrupt his sleep? To–

The door whooshed open.

And there, stood Hunk – very much awake.

Wordlessly, he let Lance in.

“Wanna talk about it?” Lance asked gently as Hunk moved back to the bed.

“I think I just need someone here until I fall asleep. Like last time.” Hunk whispered, his voice hoarse. “It’s that one where we’re floating through space and–and–”

“It’s okay buddy,” Lance said softly, sitting by Hunk’s side. “I’m here.”

Keith couldn’t believe it. _Hunk_ , the literal embodiment of sunshine, had _nightmares_? How could he miss that? How could he not know?

How could Lance – stupid, oblivious, _annoying_ Lance – possibly know?

He knew the answer to that. Of _course_ he knew the answer to that. Not so long ago he’d been the one to seek Lance’s company for comfort. For stability. And Lance had given him that. And then Keith…

Keith had left Voltron and treated Lance like dirt the moment he returned.

How could he have forgotten that all this time?

Lance stayed by Hunk’s side for a _very_ long time. Long enough that Keith could gather his thoughts and process what he’d seen through Lance’s eyes.

He’d really… given Lance hell when he came back, didn’t he? Did he treat others the same way? Sure, they were in a _war_ and he was really stressed about everything… but did he really neglect his friends?

_Does Lance even consider me a friend?_ He thought darkly. _After everything that I said today? And not just today… but every moment since we’d met?_

His vision shifted as Lance stood up, Hunk’s snores ringing in his mind in a steady rhythm. Lance gave his best friend a gentle squeeze on the shoulder and quietly left the room.

_Keith’s probably awake_. _Heh… I wonder if he’d appreciate a visit._ Lance was thinking. Then Keith remembered where he had been before he’d zapped into Lance’s mind. (Stupid Altean magic.) If he were in control of his body, he would’ve run the opposite direction for sure.

Panic surged through him as Lance headed for the training room. A mantra of curse words flowed through Keith as he desperately wished he was back in his body. He didn’t want Lance to know he was intruding on his thoughts, didn’t want him to _know_ of the rising guilt he was feeling.

Then, stupidly, he remembered that this exercise was reciprocal. For now, his thoughts were basically free for Lance to peruse. Lance probably already _knew_ he’d been in his mind the whole time.

All too soon Lance wandered into the training room. Belatedly, he wondered how Lance knew to check the training room first. What if he’d seen this happen many times – had _watched_ Keith train – and _that_ was how he knew?

Keith watched with horror – his or Lance’s he didn’t know – as Lance turned to see Keith’s body lying prone on the ground.

“Keith!” Lance screamed. “What’s going on?”

When Keith didn’t respond – how could he? he was _inside Lance’s head_ – Lance panicked and rushed to him. It felt really weird hearing Lance talk to him and being able to see his body but being unable to do anything. Keith wished for this all to be over, while also cursing Allura’s magic with a fervent passion.

“Come on, Mullet Man, wake up,” Lance pleaded, shaking Keith’s shoulders gently. Keith wanted to yell.

Until… he felt _it_.

He felt… a soft – almost _tender_ – affection as Lance tucked a loose strand of hair behind Keith’s ear. Then, a tentative smile graced Lance’s face – don’t ask Keith how he _knew_ goddamit – as he picked Keith’s body off the ground as though he weighed nothing.

A chorus of _he hates me he hates me he hates me_ began to reverberate inside Lance’s head.

Did Lance… _did Lance really think Keith hated him_?

~~Keith wouldn’t be surprised, knowing what he knew now.~~

Lance carried him all the way to his room, and Keith could only watch as Lance slid the door open and stepped inside. Slowly, he placed Keith down on his bed and pulled the sheets up to his chin – _like he did with Pidge_. Then Lance was sitting next to Keith and watching the rise and fall of his chest to make sure he was sleeping soundly – _like… like with Hunk_.

Keith flashed back to eons ago, when he’d wake up in his room despite spending the majority of the night in the training room of the Castle of Lions. He’d chalked it up to Shiro bringing him back to his bed, or even some sort of mechanism within the castle itself. He never considered his mystery saviour could’ve been _Lance_ all this time.

“I… don’t know what I did,” Lance began, and Keith held his breath. (Somehow. In Lance’s mind, he held his breath. Don’t ask.)

“Keith, I know I’m annoying to you… I know you think I’m useless and expendable and uncooperative, but… I really hope what Allura did can change things. At least… so that you could stop yelling at me all the time.” A shaky laugh, and then Lance was standing up. “I’ll let you rest. You really need to stop training so late at night. It’s bad for your skin.” As Lance leaned forward to pinch his cheek, Keith felt a sudden, inherent _need_ to be back in his body, so that he could… he could…

_Feel that same affection Lance gave to everyone but him._

And then there he was.

Blinking up at a mortified Lance, feeling a wave of exhaustion pass through his _own_ body as he slowly sat up.

“Keith!” Lance cried shakily. “H-Hey! Um, you were asleep – I think – in the training room. I, uh, just decided to bring you back to your room so–”

“Lance, it’s fine,” Keith said, rubbing his throbbing temples. “I saw it all.”

At Lance’s silence, Keith flushed. “I mean! Uh! The, um, Allura thing… I was – seeing you. I was _there_ , uh, in your…” Keith groaned and buried his head into his pillow.

“Oh my god…” Lance gaped. “You were in my head? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“How?” Keith screeched. “I tried so hard – I was practically _yelling_ at you from inside your head but – I don’t know how that works!”

For a split second, they lapsed into a tense silence. Keith wondered if he had said the wrong thing.

“Well,” Lance sighed, sobering quickly. Okay, he seemed to be handling this way better than Keith could ever. “What did you think?” Lance asked as he sat back down on Keith’s bed.

Keith blinked again.

“You were _in my head_ ,” Lance said exasperatedly. “What things did you _see_? _Hear_? Don’t tell me you’re not a _teeny-tiny_ bit interested in this Altean voodoo-whatever.”

“I, uh…” Keith’s flush darkened. “Well… you’re actually really considerate.”

After a beat: “Wow, Mullet,” Lance frowned. “You were in there for a while and that’s all you have to say?

“No! I mean,” Keith swallowed the rising nausea in his throat. “I mean, uh, I don’t… give you enough credit, I guess.”

_And I really want you to care for me like you do with Pidge and Hunk_. _And Shiro was right. There’s more to you than I let myself believe_.

“Really.” Lance rolled his eyes, and Keith didn’t know if that was in response to what he said aloud or the thoughts swirling around in his head. “Look, you don’t need to make this harder on yourself. If you try to force this idea that you don’t hate me – like I know you do – this magic won’t turn us back.”

Keith’s lips wobbled in shame as Lance stood to leave. “L-Lance, wait!”

Lance didn’t stop so Keith lunged forward and grabbed his hand. “Please!”

“What the hell, Keith?” Lance groaned, falling back on Keith’s mattress. “Let me sleep. I’m tired.”

_Looking at him hurts. He really hates me so much that he’s willing to pretend to like me. So that maybe Allura’s magic will end._ Dios _, this hurts so much._

“Your thoughts say otherwise–” Keith blurted and stopped as soon as the words left his mouth.

“Seriously?” Lance scoffed, that same bone-chilling _hurt_ from before passing through Keith’s spine. “Resorting to reading my thoughts? Good one, _team leader_.”

Keith remembered the first time Lance called him that. He’d said it with pride, like he was proud to have Keith as the black paladin. It had filled Keith’s stomach with butterflies, knowing he was finally being accepted as the leader of Voltron. And, okay, maybe he liked hearing it come from Lance. Because… Lance had a way of saying it that made Keith feel so… _ugh_.

Now… it was said with so much venom that Keith couldn’t help but flinch.

“Lance, no, I–” Keith took a wobbly breath. “I’m _sorry_. I guess I really am stressed with everything and was taking it all out on you. I… I have no idea when my stress became something that affected you so much but being in your head tonight… uh, wow I’m so bad at this.”

“You are,” Lance said, but any trace of contempt was gone as he gave Keith a small smile. “Why don’t we start over?”

Keith’s brow furrowed.

Lance rolled his eyes and held out his hand.

“The name’s Lance,” he grinned. “Nice to meet you.”

“Uh,” Keith said dumbly, taking Lance’s warm hand in his. “Keith.”

“How eloquent of you, Emo Boy,” Lance smirked.

“Hey–”

“But seriously,” Lance interrupted. “Do you wanna talk? I think you know I can’t really sleep right now.”  
  


It was true. Lance’s thoughts aside, he looked just as wide awake as Keith now felt.

“S-Sure,” Keith said tentatively, the last of his bad mood fizzling out. “Let’s, uh… talk?”

Lance laughed, and just like that, an easy atmosphere fell around them.

* * *

That easy atmosphere didn’t last long.

“You _died_?”

If it weren’t for the devastated look on Keith’s face, Lance would’ve laughed. He was finishing up his recount of what had happened while Keith was off on the space whale and had the genius idea to mention this… _minor_ _detail_.

“It’s not _that_ big of a deal,” Lance said with a wave of his hand, trying to steer the conversation away from this. “Allura saved me before I really had a chance to _feel dead_. Doesn’t bother me anymore.”

_Liar. You still have nightmares about it_.

Keith frowned.

“I’m _fine_ ,” Lance sighed. Keith once again gave him that disgruntled cat look. “Keith, it’s okay. You weren’t there and it was a long time ago.”

“Yeah, but–” Keith looked so _lost_ that Lance wanted to hug him. “Lance, why isn’t anyone _talking_ about this?”

“If you haven’t noticed,” Lance bristled, “ _we’re in a war_. No one has the time to talk about small problems like this.”

Keith’s frown deepened.

“Keith, you said it yourself.” Lance continued. “We’re in a war, and there are more important things to worry about than some random soldier who died for two seconds. Seriously, it’s not a big deal. People didn’t need to know.”

“You're not just a _random soldier_! And no one _asked_ –”

“Did _you_ ask?” Lance shot back. “ _Oh, Lance? Did you, by any chance, die while I was away?_ Didn’t think so.”

  
“That's not something you just ask! But now I know–”

“And nothing,” Lance said dismissively. “Because this war is more important. And to be fair, you _did_ say you didn’t want to be stuck with me for eternity – so I didn’t really see the point in telling you at the time.”

“Lance…” Keith’s face looked _so sad_ that Lance gave up on his control and surged forward to give him a hug.

“I’m sorry, okay?” He pulled back, rubbing Keith’s shoulder like Shiro always did. “Next time I die I’m telling you first, alright? Don’t worry about me.”

Keith pouted and shoved Lance away with a small chuckle. They sat there in contemplative silence for a moment, before Lance stood to leave again.

“Do you… always do that?”

Halfway to the door, Lance stopped and turned to look at Keith. He was staring resolutely at the wall and Lance could just see hints of red at the tips of his ears.

“Do what?”

Keith fiddled with the sheets again and Lance realised that he was _nervous_. Keith, their cool and composed leader, was _nervous_.

“Check on Hunk and Pidge,” he muttered after a while. “Do you make sure they’re okay every night?”

“I… yeah, I guess.” Lance shrugged. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, you’re all about your beauty sleep!” Keith blurted, turning to Lance with a troubled look. “And… and you always nag us about your night-time regime – how… how could you possibly say all those things and then stay up so late to check on everyone?”

Lance let out a low laugh. Might as well tell Keith the truth if he could hear everything Lance was thinking. “Everyone knows Pidge stays up late doing God-knows-what with whatever project she has going on. Hunk… he approached me one day with the biggest eyebags ever and that was when I _knew_. They’re both really important members of the team – more important than some self-proclaimed sharpshooter. Makes sense to have the more useful members of the team alert and ready every day than the goofball flirt.”

“You really think that?” Keith breathed, moving off his bed so that he could stand eye-to-eye with Lance. “ _That’s_ why you’re up at 2AM making sure Hunk and Pidge get some sleep? Because they’re more _important_ than you?”

Lance didn’t think much of it, but he could feel the utter bewilderment coming off Keith. Lance didn’t even need to be linked to Keith’s thoughts through some weird Altean-voodoo to know that Keith was _extremely_ confused.

“ _Everyone’s_ got their thing,” Lance sighed, slumping under Keith’s intense gaze. “Shiro, Hunk, Pidge, Allura, Coran… _you_. We’ve been over this, Keith – you’ve all got something that makes you useful. A good aim’s nothing when you’re surrounded by Garrison soldiers who can do the same thing as you and _more_. My _sister_ has a better aim than me. Probably. If I wasn’t the red paladin, no one would look at me _twice_.”

“That’s not true!” Keith cried, grabbing Lance’s arms again. “In the time that I’ve known you, you’ve _never_ missed an important shot! You… you always pull through when it matters. And if it weren’t for you, I would’ve given up a long time ago. Back when we were stuck on that stupid game show, I didn’t really mean what I said – the not wanting to spend eternity with you.”

“Then what _did_ you mean?” Lance asked shakily.

“I… you always talk about missing your family – and if we ended up actually stuck with Bob forever, I didn’t want to be there to see you mourning over never seeing your family again.”

_Shit_. “Keith…”

“You’re always so positive, and you draw everyone’s attention to you wherever you go. I didn’t want to witness your light go out. So that’s why I wanted you to be the one to leave. So that you could see your family again. Besides, back in the Garrison, when you were always yelling–” Keith froze, his eyes widening in horror.

“AHA!” Lance screamed, pointing an accusing finger at Keith. “You _did_ know me back then, you _liar_!”

“Is that all you care about?” Keith blushed. “I tell you that you matter to me and _that’s_ what you take out of it?”

_You matter to me._ “Sorry, Mullet, can’t hear you underneath all that _I KNEW IT_. _Who are you_ my _ass_!”

“Fine! I take back what I said–”

“Nope! It’s been burned in my mind forever!”

“Ah, you’re impossible!”

They devolved into their useless bickering, but without the usual heat.

And it was the lightest Lance felt in a long time.

* * *

The next day, every paladin save for Allura, had bags underneath their eyes.

They gave each other secret smiles as Shiro scolded them.

And if a certain black and red paladin stood closer to each other that day, no one questioned it.

* * *

“If we wanna have a true Disney marathon, we _gotta_ start from the beginning.”

“Are you serious? Princess movies or I leave.”

“Didn’t Disney buy Star Wars years ago? I say we watch Star Wars. That _totally_ counts.”

It was one of those nights where they didn’t have to wake up early the next day – but then again, when had morning commitments ever stopped them? Lance, Hunk and Pidge were huddled around a laptop together in Lance’s room, arguing about what to watch for their “Disney Movie Marathon™”. Lance’s idea, seeing as it was one of those rare times where they could sleep-in the next day. No early training, no meetings, no patrols – of _course_ Lance was going to suggest a movie marathon.

After arguing for a little while longer Pidge suggested they use a random generator to pick a movie for them.

And that’s how moments later the opening of _Frozen_ was playing on the laptop, Pidge grumbling from beside Lance.

“You said it, not me,” Lance said smugly. Pidge grumbled for a minute longer before falling quiet.

They were halfway through _Love Is an Open Door_ when Pidge shuffled to give Lance a dangerous smile.

“So,” her glasses flashing as she paused the movie. “You and Keith are getting better.”

“No!” Lance squeaked. He moved to press _play_ again but Pidge beat him to it, slamming the laptop closed. “I have _no idea_ what you’re talking about!”

“You don’t?” Pidge mock-pouted. “Hunk, what do you think?”

Hunk chuckled nervously. “Uh, well, Pidge is kinda right? You guys haven’t been arguing as much lately.”

Lance groaned. If he denied them, they would 100% see through the lie and tease him more. If he said yes, then… well, there was _always_ a possibility that Keith was listening in on his thoughts.

But then again, Keith has probably already ‘overheard’ most of Lance’s thoughts throughout the week as they strayed to a not-completely-platonic territory.

_Stupid Altean voodoo_.

Either way, he couldn’t win.

Scrambling out of bed, he headed for his desk and found a pen and paper. Hunk and Pidge watched with amusement as Lance scribbled something.

_HAD A MOMENT - DOESN’T MEAN ANYTHING. WE’RE GOOD NOW. FRIENDS. THAT’S IT._

Pidge laughed. “Lance, you are an _idiot_. That probably doesn’t even do anything.”

_HEY! THIS, GOOD IDEA. K?_

“You didn’t need to write that down!”

“So you’re still connected through that Altean trick-thing?” Hunk interrupted, once again being the buffer between Lance and Pidge. “What’s happened so far?”

Lance sighed, tossing the pen and paper to the side. “I still get random thoughts here and there. I know Allura and Coran said that we’d see things that’d make us understand each other but I don’t know what _I’m_ supposed to see. Keith, on the other hand, has seen _everything_.”

“What do you mean?” Hunk asked with concern. He gave Pidge a rough nudge as if he could sense the teasing that had been ready to spill out of her mouth.

“Well, he kinda zapped into my head a few days ago,” Lance confessed, scratching the back of his neck nervously. “And then it kinda… spiraled from there.”

“So that’s… good?” Hunk ventured. “Didn’t Allura say this thing would end when you come to understand each other better? So, like, does Keith… understand you better?”

“I guess?” Lance shrugged. “That’s his end done. How am I supposed to get in his head like he did with me, if that’s the key? He didn’t really tell me how he got zapped into my mind. And besides, I don’t see _anything_ wrong with that guy that I’d need to reach some sort of deeper-level understanding.”

“You’d be surprised,” Pidge drawled, gesturing for Lance to sit back on the bed.

Lance frowned at Pidge’s once again cryptic words and moved to re-join his friends–

–when _suddenly_.

Suddenly, all he could see was black.

Huh. That was easy.

So, all he had to do was ask?

* * *

He was in Keith’s room. That much he knew from the other night, when they had their heart to heart. Except… he didn’t remember _going_ to Keith’s room in the first place. Actually, wasn’t he _just_ having a movie marathon with Hunk and Pidge?

He wanted to look around to survey his surroundings but found that he couldn’t control his body.

And that was when he realised that he wasn’t _in_ his body.

He remembered, then, when Keith had tried to explain what it was like to be in Lance’s head, he said he’d blacked out and suddenly he was seeing everything through Lance’s eyes. And if Lance was thinking along the right lines… he was about to get some answers.

_Wonder what Lance is doing._

Huh. That was an interesting place to start.

Lance – _Keith_ – moved to his bed and laid down gently. He stared off into the lamp sitting on his desk and sighed.

_Shiro was right. I really don’t know how to make friends_.

_I want to talk to Lance more…_

_He’s having a movie night with Hunk and Pidge, now that I think about it. Heh. Imagine_ me _joining them._

Lance didn’t even _think_ of inviting Keith to their hangout. He realised it was kind of an unspoken _thing_ that Keith was off doing his own thing. Seldom did he join Lance and his friends.

_I want to tell him everything…_

_Maybe he’ll check on me like he does with Hunk and Pidge…_

Lance felt shame rise in him – in Keith? Ugh, Keith was right, this Altean magic thing was _confusing_ – and wanted nothing more than to grab Keith and haul him to his room.

Too bad Keith had other plans.

_Guess I’ll just see if Shiro’s up._

Lance could only watch as Keith stood from his bed and walked out to find Shiro. Naturally, he was in his room. What Lance _didn’t_ expect to see was Curtis, one of the ATLAS crew members (he’d been introduced the other day by Veronica). Curtis was questionably sitting at the edge of Shiro’s bed.

“C-Curtis!” Keith coughed. “Uh, hey!”

“Paladin Keith!” Curtis said, equally as mortified. He shot up faster than Voltron could ever hope to move. Shiro appeared a moment later from his bathroom and looked to Keith with surprise.

Lance wanted to close his eyes, but since he wasn’t really using _his_ eyes, he had to be subjected to Curtis and Keith’s awkward shuffling. _Yikes_. Shiro let out a good-natured laugh and placed a hand on Curtis’ shoulder.

“Why don’t you head to your room?” Shiro told him. “I’ll meet you there in a minute.”

“Yes!” Curtis blushed, hastily moving to leave. He bowed almost comically at Keith – “ _good work today!_ ” – and rushed out.

“Uh,” Keith said dumbly, and Lance didn’t know if it was his or Keith’s own mortification that he was feeling.

“Did you want to talk?” Shiro asked casually, as if nothing happened. He took Curtis’ spot on the bed and beckoned Keith over.

“Uh,” Keith said again, and took a seat next to Shiro.

“Is this about Lance?”

Keith spluttered, and somehow Lance knew he was blushing. “Maybe? I don’t know? _Wehadabondingmoment_!”

Shiro chuckled and gave Keith a gentle smile. “You know, if you want to hang out with him you can.”

“How?” Keith asked desperately. “Is it really that easy?”

_Yes!_ Lance wanted to scream. _Get your ass to my room_ now, _Mullet Man!_

“ _Yes_ ,” Shiro echoed, almost exasperatedly. The way he said it suggested this was not the first time Keith had asked him this question. “What happened this time, kiddo?”

“The other night…” Keith muttered quietly after a moment. “I was in his head and realised some things.”

“Oh?”

“Well… I may have been too hard on him.”

“You finally realised!”

Keith groaned. “Was I the only one who had no idea?”

“If I had to be honest,” Shiro smiled knowingly, “you’re a bit too focussed on the war. Lance is just trying his best to keep the morale high.”

This was too weird. Usually, Lance would’ve _preened_ at the praise coming from Shiro, but hearing it through Keith’s ears and pretending like he didn’t know any better felt _weird_. He wanted to be back in his body _now_.

“Keith, why are you here?”

Keith let out a shaky breath. “Honestly? My room’s been suffocating me.”

“How so?”

Lance knew the answer to that _instantly_. Suddenly random bits of Keith’s thoughts were piecing together in his mind. The training late at night, the quiet glances at his teammates, the… the _feeling_ he had when he was looking at Lance.

Keith was _lonely_. And not simply because of some shallow ‘lone-wolf’ persona. Keith felt this loneliness deep in his _bones_.

  
And here Lance thought he was some fearless, badass, independent leader.

How wrong Lance was.

“Everyone’s got someone to turn to,” Keith continued. Lance could feel the intense heartache. “I… don’t. You know when we first got to the Garrison? And everyone had families to return to? I know I technically had mom and Kosmo, but it would’ve been nice to have been welcomed back by someone. If it weren’t for the war and being busy with planning everything, I think… I think I’d be climbing up the walls at this point.”

“You’ve always got me, kiddo,” Shiro said after a beat. “Don’t forget.”

A brief flash of what Keith had walked in on flashed in his mind and Lance knew Keith didn’t believe a word Shiro was saying. At least, not right now. Perhaps before, Shiro _was_ someone Keith could’ve turned to, but now he had someone too. And Keith didn’t want to burden Shiro more than he already had. Shiro deserved to be happy, in Keith’s mind.

If Lance were in his body, he would’ve slapped his forehead because _I’m such an idiot_!

As if some cosmic force were listening to him (he wouldn’t be surprised at this point), Lance felt a tugging sensation and then his vision became hazy. And then, he couldn’t see anything at all.

* * *

When he came to in his body, Hunk and Pidge were hovering worriedly over him. He shot up to his feet so fast he nearly knocked their heads together.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Hunk yelled in surprise. “What just happened?”

Lance knew what he had to do.

“Can’t talk right now, buddy,” Lance muttered, more to himself than to his friends. “I’ll be back in five minutes.”

  
And then he was rushing out the door, back to where he had been moments ago. Shiro’s room was a little bit farther than the other paladins as he was given his old room back from when he was an officer at the Garrison. Lance willed his legs to carry him faster so that he could get to _him_ before his thoughts got worse.

“Keith!” Lance exclaimed as he slid Shiro’s door open. “You’re coming with me!”

“Lance?” Keith said warily, he was still sitting next to Shiro. “Where would we be going?”

“M-Movie night!” Lance blushed, suddenly taking in the rashness of his actions. “You’re, uh, invited!”

Keith frowned, and Lance could feel the doubt crawling through Keith’s thoughts. “You were in my head, weren’t you? I don’t need your pity.”

“It’s not pity!” Lance groaned in frustration. “Just - _come on_!”

Shiro cleared his throat and nudged Keith’s arm when he turned to shoot him a glare. He only shrugged.

Some sort of silent conversation passed between them. Lance could only watch in mild awe as they exchanged eyebrow quirks and annoyed grunts. He got the gist of it from Keith’s buzzing worries in his head; _Keith was scared of intruding._

But why? Hunk and Pidge loved Keith like they loved all of Team Voltron.

“ _Fine_ ,” Keith huffed a minute later – as if he could hear Lance’s thoughts (again, probable). He stood, storming past Lance at the doorway. Lance went to follow Keith’s angry march down the corridor, but not before sending Shiro a small smile and two-finger salute.

“Go easy on him,” was all Shiro said before he ushered Lance out and slid the door shut.

* * *

“Oh, Keith, welcome!”

“Mr Lone Wolf has finally decided to join us, huh?”

He hadn’t felt nervous minutes before when he impulsively barged into Shiro’s room and kidnapped Keith. Lance was just focused on getting Keith to join them for movie night. Now, he was feeling the sweat beading on his forehead as Hunk and Pidge pulled Keith onto Lance’s bed. A bit of the tension eased when he could feel similar thoughts running through Keith’s mind.

Pidge pulled the laptop towards them again, at the same time Hunk tugged Lance practically onto his lap.

“I say we scrap the Disney marathon,” she grinned. “Since most of the gang are here, let’s take a look at that Voltron cartoon again.”

Hunk and Lance groaned.

“Voltron… cartoon?” Keith frowned. “They made a show? About us? Who’d watch that?”

“Oh, Keithy-boy, you haven’t seen it yet?” Pidge cackled. She was still grinning wildly as the opening credits played.

As each episode passed, they made jokes and teased one another for the portrayal of their own character. Over time, Lance felt Keith’s worries fade away until a complete sense of peace settled in his mind. Sometimes he’d look over to glance at Keith’s smiling face (that quickly became pouty every time his character appeared on screen). It was cute, _Keith_ was cute, and Lance desperately hoped Keith was too distracted to pick out Lance’s revelations and analyse them.

Because as another wave of butterflies flitted about in his stomach, Lance knew he was absolutely screwed.

It was edging towards 2AM when Pidge let out a loud yawn and stretched out (punching Lance’s face in the process). They were almost to the end of the twentieth episode and, to be completely honest, Lance was getting sick of seeing the somewhat inaccurate portrayal of himself.

“You guys,” Hunk said, yawning as well, “I think we should call it a night.”

“Agree,” Pidge stood, not caring for anyone else as she flung the sheets she had been buried under over Lance, Hunk and Keith. She laughed at their protests and grabbed her laptop. “Goodnight my dudes.”

“You better sleep, you gremlin,” Lance grumbled, twisting the sheets off and moving to stand as well. Hunk followed suit and started picking up the empty bowls that once held his delicious homemade snacks.

Keith remained awfully quiet on Lance’s bed.

And he stayed there even after Pidge and Hunk bid them goodnight.

“You okay, man?” Lance asked tentatively. He could feel Keith’s churning thoughts returning through the weird Altean voodoo. “This was alright, right? You didn’t mind me basically kidnapping you to hang out with us?”

“No, of course not,” Keith admitted after a while, voice quiet. “I’m just… thinking about how much I missed because I was too scared to get close.”

_Whoa. He really is opening up to me right now._ And if Keith had heard Lance’s thoughts, he made no indication.

“Keith, did it really seem like you couldn’t hang out with us?”

“I guess?” Keith shrugged. “That, and I’m terrible at socialising.”

Lance laughed to relieve the tension and was glad to see that a corner of Keith’s lips had quirked up in response.

“Keith, buddy, you’re officially invited to _all_ of our future movie nights.” Lance grinned, flopping back down next to Keith on the bed. He gave Keith a little nudge so that he could see the sincerity in Lance’s expression.

“Thanks, Lance,” Keith chuckled softly. _Softly_. Soft-Keith had to be illegal – Lance was going to die one of these days. Seriously.

“Do you still wanna chill here? I don’t really mind, I’m not feeling that sleepy yet, honestly.”

“Could I?” Keith blushed. “Uh, I mean, I don’t really mind either. It’s… _nice_ … talking to you. Uh, to _someone_.”

“Of course,” Lance chuckled, leaning back. “So… what’s up?”

Keith snorted, his head falling to lean against the wall behind them. “ _What’s up_? Seriously?”

“ _What_?” Lance grinned, leaning back to mirror Keith’s position. “What did you want me to say?”

“Something… _Lancey_ – I don’t know!” And though he knew Keith would deny it until death, Lance could swear he gave out a little giggle. Keith doesn’t _giggle_. At least, until now.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lance smirked, falling into their usual banter, so much so that the words that came out of his mouth didn’t pass through his usual filters. “You want me to flirt with you?”

_Oh_. _Whoops._

“Uh…” Keith coughed, suddenly silent. _Yes please_. _God, yes._

“What?”

“What?”

“Did you just think what I thought you just thunk?” Lance asked, eyes wide as saucers.

“ _Thunk_ …? Uh… no? Uh… I suddenly need to go?”

Before Keith could make his escape, Lance shot out to grab his wrist. He could hear the looping _no no no no no’s_ bouncing off of Keith’s mind, but he made no move to let go. _This was an improvement, right? The understanding Allura was talking about?_

“Keith, wait.” Lance said, and as much as he hated to say it, he added: “We should really talk.”

“What if I don’t want to?” Keith huffed. “You don’t want to either!”

“Stop reading my thoughts!” Lance shot back, pulling Keith towards the bed. Keith made verbal protest but was seemingly willing to flop back down to his spot next to Lance.

Lance sighed. “Look, as much as I hate to admit that people are right – Allura or _anyone_ for that matter – I think this exercise really helped us out.”

“Y-Yeah, I guess…”

“And, well, after the whole Shiro thing and the castle and – _everything_ … we haven’t really sat down and… talked. And the other night all we really talked about was _me_ and _my_ problems _._ I mean, you’re literally two years older than me now! That’s insane.”

“Y-Yeah,” Keith breathed, uneasily bringing his hand up to scratch the back of his neck. “Look, we didn’t have the time to relax. And I guess even now. I still think that, no matter what you or Shiro or anyone tells me.”

Lance could tell Keith was struggling with his words, his jumbled thoughts only confirming Lance’s suspicion, so he waited for a beat for him to continue.

“I… didn’t really have the time to relax. Like, ever. But looking back on it, it was probably just me being too scared to open up to people…” Keith took a shaky breath that resonated deep within Lance. “When I was younger–”

“Hey,” Lance interrupted gently after feeling the rising panic coming off of Keith in _waves_ , “if that topic is too much for you, you know you don’t have to tell me.”

“But I want to – we’re here now,” Keith argued with a small pout. Lance fought to keep his fraying thoughts at bay so that Keith wouldn’t know _just how cute Lance thought Keith looked in this moment_. Or _just how much Lance wanted to give him a hug._ ~~Or maybe even a kiss~~.

“I was constantly on edge before I met Shiro,” Keith continued with no indication as to whether he sensed Lance’s thoughts. “I never really fit in anywhere – I jumped from house to house after my dad… well, you know. It was… a really bad few years. When I got to know Shiro better – when he took me under his wing – I still felt the need to prove my place. Like, if I failed for a second, he would throw me out. And so, I barely made any friends and threw myself into training and studying.”

“God, Keith,” Lance frowned. “I knew you didn’t have the best life, but I didn’t know…”

“I don’t want your pity,” Keith glowered, the heat from earlier returning. “I’ve heard enough of that from everyone else.”

“I wasn’t going to _pity_ you, silly,” Lance chuckled, dismissing Keith’s glare with a wave of his hand. “I was just gonna say that I wish I knew because then I wouldn’t have pushed this stupid rivalry between us. I honestly drew it out _way_ longer than was funny.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Keith insisted. “Well, I mean, you could’ve toned it down a _little_ , but it wasn’t the worst thing to have happened to me. I mean, hey–” Keith nudged Lance’s shoulder with his own “–look where that _stupid rivalry_ has taken us.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “A dumb Altean voodoo mind trick? Love that for us.”

“No, you idiot,” Keith laughed, the rest of the tension diffusing from the air. “We’re a _team_. I wouldn’t have survived this long without you.”

“Holy shit,” Lance breathed. “You can’t just drop a bomb like that on me, dude! I’m actually going to cry.”

“W-What!” Keith squeaked. “This is just a… a bonding moment!”

“Bonding moment?” Lance spluttered. “You’re still on about that? God, it’s been _so long_ since then. Oh, wow. I almost forgot about it.” He then sobered a little, looking down with a small smile. “We haven’t really… _talked_ like this before. Not since the lion switch.”

“That was when you were being stupid about stepping down.” Keith frowned. “I never wanted to punch you more, you know?”

“I was just being practical!”

“Not practical enough,” Keith muttered, turning his head to the side so that his hair covered his expression. “How could Voltron ever survive without you? You’re, like, the reason why we’re together in the first place. And, I hate to admit it too, but, Allura’s mind-melding trick has proved to me that you’re the reason we’re still _alive_.”

“Shit, Keith, I’m going to cry,” Lance said, not totally as a joke this time. He was really beginning to feel the corners of his eyes sting.

As if in response, Keith shifted closer to Lance so that their sides pressed together. “That’s why I chose to join the Blades at the time – as a way to keep you on Voltron. No matter what you say, _you_ were needed on the team more than I _ever_ was. I must’ve forgotten in the time we were apart how just how _important_ you are.” 

_To me_ , Lance could hear Keith adding. _Important to me_.

“Hey,” Lance reached for Keith’s cheek so that he could turn his head to face him. “I don’t really blame you for forgetting, you know? I wasn’t really the most helpful paladin – constantly making jokes and messing up doesn’t really scream _important_ , does it?”

“But it _does_ ,” Keith argued. “If it weren’t for you, Hunk and Pidge would be all over the place – never stopping to rest or breathe. I’d probably be in the training room all day, not knowing that I’m close to collapsing. Hell, Shiro and Allura would get too wound up over war prep and forget to _live_. I wish I knew that before I yelled at you to focus and stop goofing around.”

They sat in silence for a while, letting Keith’s words hang heavily between them. Lance’s hand stayed rested on Keith’s cheek, and Keith resolutely gazed into Lance’s eyes.

Before they knew it, someone was leaning forward – and then they were _kissing_.

Elation, Lance had no idea who from, bubbled up in his stomach, as he pressed impossibly closer to Keith. Their hands wandered over each other, mapping out each other’s scars and wounds, making up for lost time. At some point Keith had shifted so that he was sitting on Lance’s lap, resting their foreheads against each other’s and panting heavily. Lance pressed one final kiss to the corner of Keith’s lips before flashing him a soft smile.

“Some _understanding_ , huh?”

Keith laughed, burrowing his head into the crook of Lance’s neck. Lance wrapped his arms around Keith’s waist and pulled him even closer. “This wasn’t the understanding Allura was hoping to achieve with this exercise, Lance.”

“I mean, too bad for her – I am _loving_ this outcome.” Lance grinned, turning to trail kisses up Keith’s neck.

Keith snorted, but soon those snorts dissolved into uncontrollable laughter. “Lance!”

“No way,” Lance gasped. “You’re ticklish there? Keith! Hey! C’mere, mullet!”

They continued to wrestle on the bed for a long while, oblivious to a tiny _shift_ in their minds.

When they woke the next morning, all soft smiles and curled around each other, it was peacefully quiet.

* * *

“Two steps left.”

“Got it!”

“Alright, you’re rounding a corner next, so I want you to stop and turn to your right.”

“Turning…”

“Okay, now take five steps forward, and one small step right.”

“ _1… 2… 3… 4… 5_ … and then… right – too easy!”

“Holy shit,” Pidge muttered from behind Keith on the observation deck. Allura and the rest of Team Voltron, plus the MFE pilots, mirrored identical shocked expressions.

“It’s like they’re completely different people to the disaster duo we saw last week!” Rizavi whispered to Leifsdottir, who nodded in assent.

“Who knew they had it in them?” James snorted, watching as Lance made it to the end of the maze simulation with no problems.

“I thought when they came to us this morning, insisting they try the exercise again, it was to convince me to reverse what I had done,” Allura mused quietly.

“What _did_ you do?” James echoed. To his left, Kinkade’s eyebrows shot up in silent curiosity. Seriously, Lance and Keith were working _way_ too well to be real.

Pidge smirked, her thoughts flashing to the night before when Lance had frantically pulled Keith into his room. She shot Hunk, Shiro and Coran a knowing look.

“How’d I go?” Came Lance’s voice from the entrance to the observation deck. He was panting from rushing up there, but there was a satisfied smile plastered onto his face as he stepped in.

To everyone’s surprise, it was Keith who answered, “Amazing, Lance! You did so well.”

_What the fuck_ , everyone collectively thought, as Keith pulled Lance into a hug.

Hunk cleared his throat and leaned down to whisper, “Uh, am I hallucinating or are they…?”

“Oh, _yes_.” Pidge grinned. “Hunk, buddy, you owe me 20 gak.”

Oblivious to their stares, Lance and Keith smiled at each other in a way that seemed too intimate to witness.

“You guys have reached an understanding, then?” Allura said, after a beat.

Lance turned to face the assembled crowd; his arm wound tightly around Keith’s waist. “You could say that.”

Behind them, James muttered a ‘ _Seriously, what’s going on?’_ under his breath.

“Lance, you’re an idiot,” Keith snorted. Though he looked cool and poised, there was a blush on his cheeks and a slight tremble to his smile.

Lance, somehow, came to the rescue. “But yes! Guys, we’re good now – you can stop worrying about us.”

“I’m glad,” Shiro chuckled. “You guys did great on the sim. It’s hard to imagine you guys couldn’t even get two steps in without crashing.”

“What can I say,” Lance smirked, patting Keith’s hip lightly. “We make a great team.”

“Lance!” Keith spluttered, hiding his face behind Lance’s shoulder.

“Holy shit, Hunk – you can keep your 20 gak.” Pidge groaned. “These two are worse together.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'M BACK
> 
> Ngl, this fic has been sitting on my laptop for the longest time, just 100 words short of being finished. Actually, I have a lot of unfinished fics that are just 100 words short of being finished. I also have a bunch from other fandoms - so maybe I'll try posting those next!
> 
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this monster of a fic! It ended up being 11k, but I really didn't expect it to be that long HAHAHAH. I was aiming for 1k but look where we are now lmao. I just can't help creating a complete story ig!
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are appreciated!


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